In a slip case.Black and blue cloth binding with white title.

We provide an in-depth photographic presentation of this item to stimulate your feeling and touch. More traditional book descriptions are immediately available. 

•     Note: This book carries a £5.00 discount to those that subscribe to the F.B.A. mailing list

Please view our photographs and read the rubric on the interior. The estimated market value for this specific 2016 Folio Society edition of The Great Escape by Paul Brickhill in Fine condition ranges from £60 to £85. Because it is a Folio Society volume, the presence and condition of its original green card slipcase heavily influence its final resale value. 

The Great Escape by Paul Brickhill is a definitive first-hand, non-fiction account of the March 1944 mass breakout from the German prisoner of war (POW) camp Stalag Luft III. The book serves as a historical document detailing the incredible logistics, engineering, and bravery behind one of the most audacious military escape plans in history. 

Subject Matter Overview

The book profiles British and Commonwealth airmen (such as Royal Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force officers) imprisoned by the German Luftwaffe in Sagan (now Żagań, Poland). Rather than accepting captivity, a massive clandestine organisation of over 600 prisoners teamed up under the leadership of Squadron Leader Roger Bushell (codenamed “Big X”). 

The primary subject matter focuses on the meticulous planning required to break out:

• The Tunnels: The prisoners simultaneously dug three deep, structurally supported tunnels nicknamed “Tom”, “Dick”, and “Harry”. 
• Engineering Marvels: Working with bare hands and improvised tools, they engineered air pumps from Klim milk tins, track systems for moving dirt, and structures to hide over 100 tonnes of bright yellow sand from German guards. 
• The Forgery & Tailoring Factory: To survive outside the wires, prisoners faked German weapons, forged hundreds of passports/travel documents, drew maps, and tailored fake German uniforms and civilian clothing out of blankets and old attire. 
• The Outcome: The book concludes with the thrilling, split-second execution of the escape through tunnel “Harry”, the massive manhunt that followed across Nazi Germany, and the tragic, sobering aftermath where 50 of the captured officers were executed by the Gestapo on Hitler’s direct orders. 

Book Contents & Structure

The narrative flows as a chronological, real-life adventure tale rather than a dry history textbook. While specific chapter titles vary slightly by edition, the contents broadly partition into three core narrative arcs:

• Part I: The Construction & “Organization X”
  Introduces the Stalag Luft III camp layout and the “ferrets” (German anti-escape guards). It chronicles the birth of the escape committee, the initial dig strategy, and how they established an elaborate early-warning system to hide their operations.
• Part II: The Underground War
  Focuses on the daily psychological and physical battles. It describes the closure of “Tom” and “Dick”, the concentration of all efforts onto “Harry”, and the tense close calls where German inspections nearly compromised the shafts.
• Part III: The Breakout and Aftermath
  Details the freezing night of 24 March 1944, when 76 men successfully exited the tunnel before it was discovered. It documents their desperate travels across Europe and the brutal German reprisals. 

The 2016 Folio Society Special Contents

For the specific 2016 edition printed by The Folio Society, the text includes unique historical materials that add value for collectors: 

• Introduction by George Harsh: Features a poignant foreword by Harsh, an American POW who lived in Stalag Luft III alongside Brickhill.
• Historical Illustration Plates: Includes 16 pages of carefully curated black-and-white and colour photograph plates, alongside artwork and technical diagrams showing how the tunnels were mapped out under the camp. 

Market Valuation Breakdown

Pricing Insights

• Top-of-Market Value: To reach the higher end of the valuation (~£85), the book must include its original slipcase in equally immaculate, unmarked condition. 
• Historical Sales: Recent standard secondary market transactions on specialist platforms like Cloth and Board and AbeBooks frequently cluster around the £63 to £72 mark for copy-only variants or minor slipcase scuffs.